Can a creative, hard-working family make a living working with nature? Join us on the journey from idea to practice as we revive an Iowa farmstead

Day: July 4, 2008

This might not look like much, but it is an important part of strawberry health. After the berries have completed bearing for the year, I mow them down at the highest level I can and then spread compost on the patch.

This encourages the plants to send out healthy runners to improve the patch. The berries were plentiful this year due to the rain, but the taste was not as sweet as year’s past until the very end of the season when things finally dried out a little. I hunted down the last few hidden berries after I mowed, for a sweet goodbye to the strawberry season.